JW Broadcast has uploaded a video entitled: Remain Watchful for “Peace and Security!”
This topic has been considered and reconsidered on this site for many years; and of course, Jehovah’s Witnesses are frequently reminded of it in publications and discourses. To be sure, it is a compelling prophecy given the fact that God has provided a roadside marker, as it were, a signal to affirm the beginning of the end.
Sometimes, though, our being overly familiar with a topic may lead us to make unwarranted assumptions and gloss over important details.
In a recent e-watchman article discussing the topic of peace and security the issue of correct translation was presented. To be clear, I do support the insertion of “Jehovah” in the New World Translation of the Greek Scriptures where it is evident that the speaker or writer was directly quoting from the Hebrew where the YHWH appears.
That being said, it does not appear that the apostle was directly referencing a specific Hebrew verse where he wrote: “For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night.”
While there is reason to believe the YHWH appeared in the original Greek manuscripts handwritten by the apostles and others, there are no copies extant where the Tetragrammaton appears. Of course, the Hebrew Scriptures do foretell the coming of the day of Jehovah. The Study Edition of the NWT has a footnote acknowledging this fact, saying:
Throughout the Scriptures, the expression “Jehovah’s day” (or “the day of Jehovah”) refers to special times when Jehovah God executes judgment on his enemies and glorifies his great name. The expression has its background in the Hebrew Scriptures. (Some examples are found at Isa 13:6; Eze 7:19; Joe 1:15; Am 5:18; Ob 15; Zep 1:14; Zec 14:1; Mal 4:5.) The prophet Joel speaks about “the coming of the great and awe-inspiring day of Jehovah.”
However, honest Bible researchers will avoid dogmatism. There is another plausible alternative to “Jehovah’s day”; that being the Lord’s day—or day of the Lord. After all, that is what it says in the Greek Interlinear.
Even though it is perfectly acceptable to render the passage as the “Lord’s day,” and as stated already there is no valid reason to suppose Paul was quoting a specific Hebrew text where YHWH appears, translating the passage as the “Lord’s day” is unthinkable for the publishers of the NWT. That is because the very foundation of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is built upon the doctrine that the Lord’s day began in 1914.
But what if the Watchtower is wrong? Meditate on it.
Meanwhile, here is a verse for your consideration: “… just as the witness about the Christ has been made firm among you, so that you do not lack in any gift at all, while you are eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also make you firm to the end so that you may be open to no accusation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 1:6-8
You don’t have to be a Greek scholar or steeped in theology or even an anointed light-bearer to discern the truth of this simple statement. Paul connected the awe-inspiring revelation of Jesus Christ with the “day of our Lord.” (or Lord’s day) Furthermore, as I have published elsewhere, the revelation, manifestation, and parousia of Jesus Christ are all interchangeable terms. (The Parousia) That being indisputably true, since Paul placed the day of our Lord as the end of the Christian course, this means the day of our Lord, Jesus Christ, has not begun.
Now, read the passage again from another translation: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” — American Standard
Did not Jesus refer to his coming as a thief in the night? Yes, he did, and on more than one occasion. Writing to the symbolic Sardis congregation Jesus reiterated: “Therefore, continue mindful of how you have received and how you heard, and go on keeping it, and repent. Certainly unless you wake up, I will come as a thief, and you will not know at all at what hour I will come upon you.” — Revelation 3:3
Did Jesus come as a thief in 1914? Of course not. The day and hour of his coming are unknowable.
It is always wise to take into consideration the surrounding context of any verse under consideration. To do that go back to the fourth chapter. Paul was writing about the return of Christ, yes the parousia. Paul even spoke of the Lord descending from heaven and the beginning of the first resurrection. He also revealed that those living will be caught away into the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. That is the context as you flip the page to read: “Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you.”
The reason we need nothing to be written to us is because Jesus has already explained that no one knows the day and hour of the thief-like coming of the Son of man.
That brings us back to 1 Thessalonians 5:2. Leonard Meyers—reading from a worn-out WT script—stated that when they are finally saying the prophesied “peace and security,” then the tribulation will begin with the destruction of false religion.
If, however, the day of the Lord begins when they are saying “peace and security” that sheds a whole new light where darkness has prevailed.
Concerning other details that may get overlooked, although Paul said sudden destruction comes upon them instantly, he also provided a qualifier. He used the illustration of a pregnant woman who is suddenly seized with birth pangs. Typically, a woman may be in labor for many hours before the actual birth. So, events will be set into motion when they are saying “peace and security” and their destruction is all but guaranteed at that point, but the end is not yet.
Jesus also alluded to the labor of a woman giving birth when he said: “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” — Matthew 24:7-8
As it stands now it has been over a century since the supposed “beginning of pangs of distress.” That is unusually long labor. 😉
It is, of course, deemed to be unthinkable by Jehovah’s Witnesses, even impossible, that the Lord’s day might commence in the future accompanied by the aforementioned “beginning pangs of distress.” Ironically, that is why the Lord’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night.
In previous articles and videos discussing the topic of peace and security, I focused on the efforts to secure peace in the Middle East in recent years. However, given the present heightened tensions gripping the world; specifically, Putin’s ultimatum to the US and NATO concerning Russia’s threatened security due to NATO encroachment over the years, which has now been officially rejected, one increasingly likely outcome is that a military conflict will erupt in Europe. (Ground zero for both previous world wars.)
Keep in mind that at no time in the atomic age have the nations that possess nuclear weapons ever engaged in direct warfare. All of the conflicts heretofore have been through subterfuge, cyber warfare, financial war, proxy wars involving mercenaries and Anglo-trained terrorists, and relentless propaganda warfare. Even Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2016 was aimed at the terrorists being used to overthrow the Syrian government.
However, if Russia makes good on its threat to neutralize military installations that pose a threat to its national security a world war three scenario would develop very quickly. Such a situation would surely get everyone’s attention. There are already two organizations in operation that are intended to maintain peace and security. One is the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the other is the United Nations, which has as its mission statement:
The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and security. The General Assembly and the Secretary-General play major, important, and complementary roles, along with other UN offices and bodies.
Here is the problem though: The UN Security Council’s permanent members are Russia, China, France, the UK, and the USA, which are presently being drawn into two opposed blocs of nations. How can the Security Council cooperate to maintain peace and security if the member nations are at war with each other?
Given the dire emergency that would arise if the nuclear-armed nations are drawn into direct conflict, even on a limited scale, all of the UN member nations, being caught in the crosshairs of a potential global conflagration, would be very motivated to intervene to bring about a cessation of hostilities. And if their urgent Security Council and OSCE meetings appear to be successful in averting catastrophe everyone will surely be relieved when they are saying “peace and security.”
And if hostilities erupt anew afterward, forget trying to calculate the seven times or any of that nonsense, then we will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Lord’s day has at last begun. Then the sons of day and sons of light will come to the fore. And during the bleakest hour, the chosen ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
